This blog is no longer active. It's pretty much just a bunch of drunken idiocy mixed with senseless ramblings. A more refined blog can be viewed at riraho.blogspot.com.

Monday, June 23, 2008

The roads less traveled, for a reason.

If you have ever lived or traveled through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania you surely have thought to yourself, "Jesus the roads in this state sure do suck." With the amount of pot holes, misplaced manhole covers, construction and road kill, it's a wonder anyone gets to work in one peice.

You cannot drive to your nearest Turkey Hill without swerving around a dead animal of some sort. I lost count how many consecutive days I drove to work and saw a dead skunk lying on the side of the road. Last week I was on Druid Hill Lane/Road/Boulevard and saw a groundhog crawling along the road. I sort of chuckled to myself that there was a 1oo% chance of it being ran over. Next day, there it was, on it's back all four paws pointing up. Groundhogs, cats, rats, you name it. One day I saw a freaking 10 foot snake slithering across Marietta Avenue. Needless to say it got run over by about 4 cars; it's a pretty sick site watching a snake coiling and recoiling in agony. No one should have to see that. Sure, I live in a more country kind of setting, but the other day I was leaving work on Centerville Road-which is situated in a very industrialized area- and saw a dead raccoon. It's guts were hanging out and I swear there were 2 actual vultures picking at it's intestines. I nearly yakked right on the spot. The only thing I haven't seen lying on the road is a dead horse. But with the amount of Amish people living around here, it's only a matter of time.

If you drive in Pennsylvania, construction is simply a part of your life. Route 30, it seems, has been under construction since I moved here in April of 1989. Sure the stretch around Park City and Manheim Pike turned out nice, but once you move west, towards the sticks, the condition of the road deteriorates. The seams in the concrete rack your brain for a good 4 exits. The part of 30 heading towards York is giving me more headaches that I can handle. Forget for a moment that it's taking entirely too long, and that I just drove through it last month and saw no change or progress or workers, the real problem is the effect it is having on the rest of the roads in the area. Most drivers are avoiding 30 and taking regular roads to get to work. I never once had to wait more than 3 minutes to get out of my parents neighborhood. Now I can almost get through American Pie before I can pull out. Never did I have to wait through 3 green lights to get through the Stoney Battery intersection. I lived 4 miles from work and leaving 25 minutes early meant I was assured to be clocking in at 8:07.

Equally disconserting are the conditions of the actual roads. Which is pretty amazing considering the constant construction that is always going on. Pot holes are everywhere. Feeble attempts to fill the holes or patch the cracks might make for a quick fix, but long term it offers no solution. What drives me more nuts is the curious location of the manhole covers that dot every 1/100 of a mile anywhere you turn. Common sense might dictate that they are placed in the center of the lane, where they can provide access for whatever the hell they provide access to (has anyone ever seen a man go in to a man hole?), while not making the road a hazard to your shocks, suspension, wheel axles, tires or the shirt your were wearing that you just spilled coffee all over because you just had your car rocked. For some reason, the holes are located closer to the middle of the road, where if you are sober and are between the yellow, lines up perfectly with your 2 left tires. I like going to the Fairview Tavern, which is atop the hill on Prospect Road. If you have every driven that road, you would know that there are about 10 manholes along the way. I can't imagine why they would need intermitten access to the underground every 20 feet, but incase they do, the manholes are there! If you travel up the hill, you'll find that the road is very windey and is also very tight-mail boxes and drive ways give you very little room to manuever. So while you are driving, it's next to impossible to navigate around the 20 or so fox holes without risking a collision with a passing motorist in the opposite lane or one of the 30 mailboxes. So if I want to get to the Fairview, I better be prepared for approx. 40 thunks and a visit to Meineke in the not so distant future. Those familiar with the area might say I should take High Ridge Road up the hill, but that might be worst road in the Country, let alone in the state.